Monday, May 31, 2010

Today, is memorial day... I am so proud of our troops. To see our men and women in uniform always brings tears to my eyes and gives me goosebumps of awe. As the proud granddaughter of a Colonel (my grandmother would die to hear me drop rank... hehehehe). I know first hand the sacrifices my grandfather made to be a part of our armed forces. He was selected as part of the Olympic fencing team, and decided instead to head off to bootcamp that summer. His daughter didn't recognize him when he returned home from war, my grandmother raised their five children alone while my grandfather went off to fight first in Vietnam, then in Korea. With all their sacrifice and all the pain they endured for the honor of our country, they are still the lucky ones. My grandfather is alive, and he is whole, and he enjoyed a fabulous life as a civilian. There have been so many more even in my lifetime who aren't that lucky.

So, today remember that you are mortal... that they were mortal... and they gave their sweet, short lives for a cause altogether bigger than any one of us.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

As many of you know I grew up in a little itty bitty town in Wyoming. My grandfather who is the best man I have ever known is from Texas, so a deep love and appreciation for all things southern was fostered in my heart from an early age. Thus, as soon as I graduated high school I trotted off to attend college in the south. For the most part I consider the south my true home. After all my family genealogy has been traced all across the southern states as far back as the 1600's. So, it's a very, very rare occassion when I get homesick for the northwest. I mean all that snow, no sweet tea, no hydrangea's and nobody says "ya'll"? Ugghh... it really can be too much for this southern girl to handle. But every once in a while, I'm given a gentle reminder of the aching beauty of my homeland, and this country girls heart longs for the mountains and the snow... not very often but once in a while... I have been to each and every one of these places and can assure you that they really are this beautiful in real life. No magical photoshopping here!

We used to camp here when I was little. Growing up mama had an oil painting of this lake in the living room, and next to it was a framed photo taken from the exact place the oil painting had been painted... the water in this lake is glacier fed, which means literally you can put it in a cup and drink from it, without fear of bugs, or germs, or getting sick!

I know people freak out over the Rockies, but nothing in the world is as majestic to me as the sharp points of the Tetons rising up out of the desert. The land surrounding the Tetons is so flat that you can actually view them from more than 300 miles away!

Friday, May 28, 2010

Today marks the halfway point of the What Preppy Wore Challenge in which I wear something new to work everyday for my last 50 days at work...

What does halfway mean:

~25 days of work left

~150 Elevator rides left

~ 31.5 hours of commuting left

~ 4 Paychecks left

And then... my whole life changes. We relocate, I start something new, somewhere new, with new people, new ideas and mountains of new terminology. The things by which I identify myself change. When people ask "What do you do?" my response will be "I'm a med student." When people ask where we live I won't say Austin, I'll say the San Francisco Bay Area.... It's exciting, and nerve wracking, and in these moments it all feels very insecure.

Thank ya'll for your positive comments earlier this week... I need moments like that... moments where I take a deep breath and put my feet back on the ground and remember that this is my life, and I want it to be an adventure! (then the four year old in me says "but adventure is scary!")

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure. ~Helen Keller

What Preppy Wore Day 24:

Shirt by Zinger - Ross Spring 2010 - I love this shirt... the combination of feminine ruffles and the brass military style buttons... love it (I wore it when we had our pictures taken in the bluebonnets here)

Thursday, May 27, 2010

This Pink and Green Thursday is beach themed in honor of all of our gorgeous gulf shore beaches, that may never again be the same... For updates on where the oil spill has now spread to, and how the wildlife are reacting please drop by Bumpkin on a Swing... and be sure to pray for Captain John and all those working towards minimizing the impact on the wildlife!

I love these baroque outdoor chairs featured on Trendir (if you watched Boston Legal, these chairs are made of the same material as the white chairs that Denny used to sit on and smoke his cigars on the balcony of the office). I sat on one in a design store, and they are quite comfortable!

These Aladdin Lanterns featured on Style Hive are a stunning way to light a beach side table.

Few things are as precious as babies on the beach, one day I would love to have a painting like this one by Misty Mistler of my children playing in the waves.

Because as much as we might love the beach, we don't love what the sun does to our skin, no trip to the beach is complete without a charming sun hat! I love this pink and white one from That Way Hat, and it certainly doesn't get more affordable. I have a similar one in khaki, and it's fantastic, it's easy to fold, restores it shape quickly when unpacked, has a brim wide enough to cover my face and neck with shade, and has just a small amount of wire on the edge of the brim so I can bend it just enough to see out of!

Love this beach house bedroom featured in Coastal Living... I think the shells on the wall as a border around the mirror are a great and affordable idea! Doesn't that bed seem like a slice of heaven after a long day in the sun?

Every girl of course needs a fantastic beach bag and I am in love with this green and pink version from Scout. I love the three outside pockets! The perfect place to stash bottles of contact solution and sunscreen so they don't leak on all of the stuff inside the bag. It's water resistant and you can wipe it clean. And I love that it has both short handles and long handles so you can carry it or sling it over your shoulder.

A pink and green trip to the beach would not, could not possibly be complete without something from the ever beachy Lilly Pulitzer. I am in love with this dress from the current collection.

And just for fun, have you seen the great styling in the new ads for H&M's garden home collection? It is of course complete unrealistic and marvelously dreamy to think of spending they day reading in this cushy chair on the sand!

Love this image... it just makes me smile!

What Preppy Wore:

I know my hair looks funny at this angle, but trust me it was this cute bouffant, with a little side ponytail... very charming :)